Father of missing Fitchburg boy pleads for his return

WORCESTER — Supported by his brother and choking back tears, the father of missing 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver pleaded Friday for the boy's return.

Mr. Oliver, 41, of New Britain, Conn., arrived at his brother Sandrino Oliver's home at 15½ Mendon St. Thursday night.

Friday afternoon, he said it was two years ago at the house on Mendon Street that he last saw 5-year-old Jeremiah and his two other young children. He said he has a hard time believing his son is missing and may be dead.

"I'm confused," he said. "I'm still thinking this must be a dream — that I'm going to wake up anytime soon and realize it's a dream."

Mr. Oliver, who does not drive, said he has been trying to get to Massachusetts since he learned earlier this week of his son's disappearance.

"I'm here to fight for my son. I'm here to find my son. I'm here to fight for the other children," he said. "I'm here to be a father."

Mr. Oliver's memories of his son are of a sweet boy, he said.

"He is a little wildcat. He's smart. He's funny. He's like a little teddy bear," he said. "What I miss most about him is his smile."

Mr. Oliver's other two children are in the custody of the state Department of Children and Families. He said he has already talked with state officials about the process he would need to follow to gain custody of the children.

Jeremiah Oliver has been missing since Sept. 14. The boy's mother Elsa Oliver, 28, and her boyfriend, Alberto L. Sierra Jr., 23, face child abuse charges. They are due back in Fitchburg District Court Dec. 24. Ms. Oliver was ordered Tuesday to undergo mental health evaluation. Mr. Sierra was ordered held without bail at his arraignment Monday.

As police continue to search for the missing 5-year-old boy, a third state employee has been disciplined in the case.

Mr. Oliver said he believes he and Ms. Oliver are still married and have been for 8 years. He said he has not received any legal papers indicating otherwise. He said his wife had a restraining order against him, but insisted it was not because of any abuse on his part. He said the reason he has not seen the children in two years is that Ms. Oliver prevented him from seeing them. He said he loves Jeremiah and wants him safe.

"I feel hopeless," he said. "I feel I should have been there to protect him, but she did not allow me to be there."

Mr. Oliver said he does not know Alberto Sierra or anything about him.

"I don't know how she met him," he said.

Still, he said, he hopes Mr. Sierra will let people know where Jeremiah is.

"Talk. Open your mouth," he said. "It's too late for you. At least let us know where he's at."

Mr. Oliver says he believes his wife knows where Jeremiah is, but finds it hard to believe she would have harmed him.

Mr. Oliver said that if his wife is not talking it's because of abuse.

"I want to tell her, 'He's in jail now. He can't hurt you.'"

Friends and relatives held a vigil for the missing child on Wednesday. About 75 people gathered for a second vigil Friday evening in front of 15 Mendon St., where Mr. Oliver lived with his wife and children until two years ago.

More than half of those at the event were Mr. Oliver's aunts, uncles and many cousins. They all echoed the message, posted on a sign propped up by snow on the sidewalk: "We miss you, we love you."

Beneath the sign, someone carved out several feet of snow for the dozens of lighted candles, teddy bears, and a blue water jug for donations.

Mr. Oliver's brother, Sandrino, said he remembers Jeremiah coming up the stairs to his family's apartment to ask his now 18-year-old daughter to read to him. He said his daughter, who recently became a mother herself, was too distraught to attend the vigil.

Mr. Oliver said he would be meeting with a representative from the Department of Children and Families on Monday afternoon in Leicester with the hopes that he could get his children back after being without them for two years.

Wearing a shirt with a picture of his son on the front and the word "Daddy" on the back, he urged his wife to cooperate with the investigation, and said that with permission of the judge, he would speak to her.

"I believe she will talk to me," he said. "If you're not gonna do it for me, do it for" our children.

Relatives and friends are also planning a search in Fitchburg on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. in the area near 276 Kimball St. where the child lived. The search is not being organized by the police, but by Mr. Oliver's brother and volunteers in Fitchburg.

Mr. Oliver said they expect to search a nearby brook and bridge that runs over it, around old factories, in dumpsters — anywhere the child might be found.

An announcement of the search was posted on the Facebook page Prayfor JeremiahOliver, Also posted on the page is a notice asking that if any tattoo artist created a butterfly tattoo on Elsa Oliver on Sept. 25, to call the Fitchburg Police Department.

Along with the firings of a state DCF social worker and the person who supervised that worker, an area program manager has been reassigned during the department's investigation into the case.

Alec Loftus, a spokesman for the state DCF, said the reassigning of the area program manager is customary in cases where an investigation is required. He said the area program manager who was reassigned was in charge of overseeing supervisors in Fitchburg.

"Any determination as to the future of this or any other employee will be made after the conclusion of the full and transparent investigation ordered by the governor," he said.

The social worker was fired for failing to make regular visits to the Oliver household to check on the welfare of the Oliver children. A DCF area program manager was also reassigned while the case is being investigated.

In announcing the firings of the supervisor and social worker on Wednesday, DCF Commissioner Olga Roche said the social worker failed to follow up a report from the child's day care. The day care reported Jeremiah's mother notified it in June that it was the boy's last day and he would be going to live with his grandmother in Florida.

Cayenne Isaksen, a spokesman for the DCF, confirmed Wednesday that not only did the social worker fail to make mandatory visits to the Oliver home when there were serious concerns about the fitness of the child's living situation, it was recommended that Ms. Oliver and her family be released from state oversight because they were doing so well.

Gov. Deval Patrick, speaking on WGBH-FM on Friday, said that oversight of the Oliver family went downhill after the case was transferred to a different office. He said a representation was made that the family was fine and in a new apartment with brand-new furniture even though no one from DCF had actually gone to see it.

Mr. Patrick also said that more senior officials at DCF may be disciplined in the case.

"I've asked the commissioner (of DCF) to look into the question of whether responsibility goes beyond those two, and I have some reason to believe that it does," he said.

Alli Knothe of the Telegram & Gazette staff contributed to this report. Contact George Barnes at george.barnes@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgebarnesTG

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